Actually, it was no problem at all to get up as early as five in the morning, because in Costa Rica sunset is around that time. And
because sunset is already at five something in the evening and we were still living after European time, we could easily go to bed early, too. We
had to because our first real trekking of those holidays was to start at six in the morning: The ascent to Los Crestones Accomodation Block.

Grenze des Parque Nacional Chirripo nach 4km

Limit of Parque Nacional Chirripo after 4km

The breakfast, consisting of gallo pinto, toast, fruits and coffee
gave us the power we needed for this trekking. The guy at
Albergue de Montaña El Pelícano drove us together with three Ticos to Hotel Urán, some kilometers from the albergue. There, the hiking trail
starts where the sign El Termometro shows the elevation 1520 above sea level. The trail is 14.5km in length and climbs more than 2000
meters until one reaches the mountain hut below Los Crestones. Here we met our guide, Dennis, who was to accompany us the next three days.

Nasser Weg durch den Nebelwald

The dirty trail passes cloud forest

The weight of our backpacks was around 12kg. It is very important that you carry a good sleeping bag with you because there
is no heating at the mountain hut and temperatures usually fall as low as 0° during the night. You also need very good clothing, best are different
layers. And for the not so rare case of rain you have to be equipped as well. For me there was the additional weight of my SLR camera so you
can find good pictures on this homepage...

Mystische Stimmung im Nebelwald

Mystical impression in the cloud forest

We carried picknick for lunch and two bottles of water with us. Half way, at kilometer 7.2, there is a shelter where you can
fill up bottles. So you do not have to carry more than two liters at a time. We were quite surprised that most other hikers including the Ticos
walking together with us did not carry more than a small daypack. Later we met horses and porters who carried their luggage and our
food to the hut.

Important: After 4 kilometers you enter Parque Nacional Chirripó. You have to register and pay the entrance fee
at the national park center before entering. That is even more important as otherwise it may happen that there is no space to sleep in the hut.
The office is in San Gerardo de Dota, at the beginning of the village. Try to go there the afternoon of the day before you start the trekking.

Ziel erreicht: Nach 14.5km und mehr als 2000 Höhenmetern auf 3393müM

Done: After 14.5km and after ascending more than 2000 meters of elevation at 3393m above sealevel

We were quite happy with the weather conditions. It was foggy almost all the way, just a short time of about half an hour there
was very little rain. The ascent is very strenuous with that big difference in elevation, so it is very nice if the weather is not too hot. Nonetheless
we had do stop quite often at the steepest places around kilometer 9 to get breath. A big problem was that we did not get enough food for picknick
what resulted in a state of extreme fatigue caused by overexertion and lack of blood sugar. So I had to stop for a longer break during the final
kilometer which is the steepest of all. Fortunately I had brought a Swiss chocolate in my backpack that I could eat now. After that I had enough
energy to proceed and hike to the hut.

Unser Zimmer im Los Crestones Accomodation Block

Our room at Los Crestones Accomodation Block

Los Crestones Accomodation Block is a really large mountain hut with kitchen and lounge. The kitchen has two parts, in one
of which our cook has her kingdom. So hikers who want to cook for themselves do not have much space. For us it did not matter because she
cooked very well for us and most other hikers who had also booked this service.

After five in the afternoon it starts becomming dark and very cold here at 3400 meters above sea level. Even Ticos carry
hats and gloves and unpack them. After dinner there is no big desire to hang around. Instead you might want to go into the sleeping bag as
soon as possible, hoping for beautiful weather the next morning to climb Chirripó.